Wright Conserve Hip Replacements

Wright Medical controls about two percent of the market for hip and knee replacement or resurfacing products in the United States. Approximately 60 percent of Wright Medical’s sales come from knee and hip replacement products, which are sold in more than 60 countries. Unfortunately, while the company’s Lineage line of hip joint products is ceramic-on-ceramic, Wright Medical also makes a line of metal-on-metal hip replacement systems called the Conserve line.

Like most metal-on-metal (MoM) hips, products in the Conserve line have a high failure rate. The Conserve products were supposed to be more durable than ceramic products and were marketed primarily to younger people. They are used for both hip replacement and hip revision and these metal-on-metal implants were designed with a larger femoral head in order to more closely mimic the hip’s natural anatomy. This would allow for as much as 169 degrees of motion. The Conserve Plus Total Hip Resurfacing System is part of the MoM line of implants and unfortunately has a very high failure rate. Wright is currently facing lawsuits arising from problems with the Plus system and other metal-on-metal products.

Patients with defective metal-on-metal hip implants can experience serious complications and likely will require at least one additional surgical procedure to remove the failed implant and fix the damaged hip joint. Patients can seek compensation for losses, pain and damages caused by the product defect and should contact an experienced hip implant lawyer at the Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Glassman.

Wright Conserve Defective Hip Implants

The Conserve products have not been recalled by the manufacturer, despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receiving hundreds of reports of adverse events. Complications and side effects that can arise from the Conserve include severe hip pain; groin pain; metal toxicity; pseudo-tumors formed from metal ions; and limited mobility.

The Conserve Plus is very similar to the DePuy ASR, which also has a high failure rate and has been recalled by DePuy Ortheopaedics. Both hip systems include a large femoral head made out of cobalt chromium and both are cementless. Wright’s Conserve products are also only slightly below the failure rate for DePuy devices. The five-year revision rate for DePuy is 9.63 percent, which is the highest of all metal-on-metal hip manufacturers. The Conserve product comes in right below at 8.36.

Patients with failed systems have filed lawsuits and in February of 2012, the cases were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the North District of Georgia. Consolidated cases involve the Conserve Plus Total Surfacing Hip System; the Femoral Hip Surface Replacement; the Total A-Class Advanced Metal system, and the Total Hip System. Consolidation of multiple cases in a MDL does not take away a plaintiff’s case autonomy, it simply mean one judge decides common pre-trial questions relevant to all cases in an effort to streamline the process.

Patients affected by a defective Wright hip implant device need to understand their rights. The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Glassman can help victims harmed by defective hip products. Call today to speak with a member of our legal team.

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